Safety



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. S. G-UERBER. SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAYS.

No. 365,002. Patented June 14, 1887.

WITNESSES MM M N PETERS, Phow-Lllhogmphcr. Wznhinglcll. uc.

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F. S. GUERBER.

SAFETY APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAYS. No. 365,002. Patented June 14, 1887.

UNITED STATES PATENT Grates.

FREDERICK S. GUERBER, OF ALLENIOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

SAFETYAPPLIANCE FOR RAILWAYS..

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,002, dated June 14,I887.

Application filed July 28, 1886. Serial No. 200,307.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, Fnnnnnren S. GUERBER, a citizen of the United States,residing at A1- lentown, in the county of Lehigh and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSafety Appliances for Railways; and I do hereby declare the following tobe a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of thisspecification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, and Fig. 2 a planView, of a portion of track and a switch having my safety applianceattached thereto. Fig. 3 is a plan view of a track-instrument. Fig. 4 isa vertical transverse section of a. safety-bar. Fig. 5 is a plan View ofsame.

My invention has relation to safety appliances for railways, and has forits object to provide a combination and arrangement of parts, wherebythe entire portion of the track to which a signal is assigned will befully protected thereby, so that after a track has been once cleared forthe passage of a train and a signal given to that effect no change inthe switches or locks or other appliances covered by the signal can bemade until the train has passed completely out of and beyond the sectionor portion of the track to which the signal pertains.

My invention consists in the peculiar combination and arrangement ofparts, hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In carrying my invention into effect I cmployinterlocking apparatus ofsuch construction that after a switch has been moved and the trackcleared a lock is effected, whereby the switch cannot be moved until thesignal is reversed or set to danger. I also employ a safety-bar solocated with reference to the switch that until a train has passedoffthe switch the latter cannot be moved, and a traclciustrument, whichputs an additional lock on the switch by locking the interlockingapparatus, such track=instrument being operative by a passing train, soas to auto matically unlock the lock of such instrument.

It very frequently happens that within a given space or section coveredor protected by one signal there will be several switches or crossings,each of which, under ordinary arrangements, requires a safety-bar, sothat uir (No model.)

der such circumstances several safetybars are required in the space orsection covered by one signal. By my invention, employing only onesafety-bar and one track-instrument, in conjunction with an interlockingapparatus and a signal, the entire distance or section of track to whichsuch signal pertains is perfectly protected, whether there be only oneswitch or crossing in such section, or whether there be severalswitches, crossings, or dangerpoints, such protection extending not onlyto the switch within the section, but to and beyond the fouling point,as hereinafter set forth.

My improvements consist, essentially, in the combination, with aninterlocking apparatus for moving a switch and signal, of atrack-instrument and a safety-bar, each of which puts an additional lockon the interlocking apparatus, and which coact in the manner hereinafterdescribed, said safety-bar and track-instrument being so located withreference to each other that a passing train will be upon the safety-barbefore the track-instrument is operated to unlock, and will alsocontinue upon said bar after the unlocking operation of the trackinstrument, as hereinafter fully described.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention as appliedto a railwaytrack having only one switch connected therewith but it maybe applied in the same manner to a track having a series of switches orother danger-points in it.

In said drawings, A represents the main track, B the siding or shunt,and C the switch connecting said main track and siding. The section oftrack shown is supposed to be so much of the track as is protected byone signal, D, which is shown as mounted upon a post, d.

E is an interlocking apparatus, which may be of any usual or suitableconstruction, in which, before the switch can be moved, the signal mustbe set to danger, and in which the setting of the signal to safety locksthe switch against movement until said signal has again been set todanger. It also includes,

preferably, but not necessarily, means whereby,after the switch has beenmoved,it is locked at the switch by a lock not in the interlockingapparatus, so that said switch is locked by the interlocking apparatusand by a separate lock or switch-lock before the signal can be moved tosafety.

I prefer to employ the interlocking apparatus shown and described in myapplication for Letters Patent of the United States, filed .April 30, A.D. 1886, Serial No. 200,715; but any other interlocking apparatus ofproper construction may be employed for carrying my present inventioninto effect.

A H H H represent levers of the interlocking apparatus, H being thelever whereby the signal is moved, H the lever for moving theswitch-lock L, and H the lever whereby the switch is moved. Beforemoving the switch the lever H must be thrown to set the signal atdanger, and the lever H moved to unlock the lock L.

Irepresents a connection leading from the lever H to the signal.

1 represents a similar connection, leading frQm the lever H to theswitch-lock L, and 1" represents a connection leading from lever H tothe switch 0.

N is a track instrument or device whereby, when the signal is set tosafety, the interlocking apparatus is locked,so that neither the lever Hnor lever .H can be moved until a train passes and automatically unlocksthe interlocking apparatus from the lock of the track instrument. Saidtrack instrument may be of any desired or suitable construction, but" ispreferably constructed as shown and described in an application of mineof even date herewith, SeriaLNo. 209,306, forLetters Patent, and asillustrated in Fig. 3 of accompanying drawings. Said track-instrument isconnected with the signal-connection I, so as to be. set when the latteris moved to put the signal at safety; and it has also a connection, 1with a weighted lever, 0, whereby when the signal is set to safety thetrackinstrument locks the lock-lever H, so that the lock L cannot beunlocked until the train passes, and, operating upon thetrack-instrument N, effects a movement of the lever O, which unlocks theinterlocking cylinder to which said lever H pertains.

Q is a safety-bar whichhas a connection, I, with the switch-lockconnection 1, (preferably through the medium of a motionplate, 1 whichsafety-bar prevents the lock L from being moved while the train is oversaid safety-bar. This safety-bar may be of any desired construction, butis preferably constructed in the manner shown and'described in anapplication of mine for Letters Patent of the United States, filed April30, A. D. 1886, Serial No. 200,719, and as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4,and, 50f the accompanying drawings. The safety-bar Q andtrack-instrument Nare preferably located opposite to one another andbeyond the fouling-point of the siding B and main track A and at theextreme or remote point of said track to which the signal D pertains orwhich is protected by such signal.

The connection I is preferably made through a motion-plate havingadoubly-inclined slot and pin or roller therein, which permits'thesafety-bar to tilt to its highest and fall again to normal when saidplate is moved the entire extent of its movement.

The operation is substantially as follows: Suppose that the main track Ashould be clear for the passage of trains, but the signal D, whichpertains'to said main track, be at danger, as shown in Fig. 1, the leverH is moved, setting the signal to safety. The movement of said lever Halso operates the track-instrument, as described in my aforesaidaccompanying application, Serial No. 209,306, so that neither leverHnorlever H can be moved until a train has passed and operated saidtrack-instrument. The safety-bar also prevents the switch from beingunlocked atL until the train has passed off the safety-bar. Thesafety-bar and track instrument being located directly opposite to oneanother,a train will first get on the safety-bar before thetrack-instrument can be operated,and will remain thereon until aftersaid track-instrument has been passed. Said safety-bar being locatedbeyond the foulingpoint ofthe track A andsiding B, the switch 0 cannotbemoved until after the train has passed the fouling-point; hence after.the main line has been cleared and the safety-signal given the switchcannot be moved until a train has passed not only over the switch, butbeyond the fouling-point of the siding and main track.- If it were notfor the track-in strument, the switch might be moved before the t trainreached the safety-bar, and, therefore, before the train had passedbeyond the fouling-point, and ifit were not for the safety-bar theswitch might be unlocked as soon as the track-instrument had beenoperated, as such instrument is operated by the first wheel of a trainand while part of the train may be yet at a danger point; but byarranging the safety bar and track-instrument opposite to one anotherthey affect each other, and both act on ment,and also off of thesafety-bar and beyond the fouling-point of the siding and main trackthat is, completely out of the section controlled by the signal D;hence, no matter how many switches or danger-points there maybe in thesection of track to which the signal insures safety, such section isabsolutely protected against movement of any of its switches or brakesuntil the trainhas completely passed off of such section.

While I prefer to employ a mechanical trackinstrument as being morecertain and reliable than an electrically-operated device for the samepurpose, still my invention may be'carried into effect by an electricaltrack-instrument, the condition being that the track-in strument andsafety-bar both eoactin the manner described.

,I have shown and described a signal as a part of the combinationembodying myinvention and the connection I as a connection between theinterlocking apparatus and said sig nal; but any other equivalentadjunct may be used instead of said signal, and be operated through themedium of said connection I. By equivalent adjunct is meant any devicewhose connection or movement sets the trackinstrument and through thelatter locks the interlocking apparatus.

I have shown and described myinventionin connection with a switchhavingaswitch lock; but Ido not wish to be understood as being limitedthereto, as in lieu of a switch the interlocking apparatus may operatein conjunction with a crossing, a dra-Wbridge, or other danger-point ofa road, and the switclrloek may in some cases be dispensed with.

IVhat I claim as my invention is as follows:

1. The eombinatiomwith an interlocking apparatus anda signal or otherconnection, I, of a track-instrumentwhich locks the interlockingapparatus when the signal or other connec tion is set for the passage oftrains and is antomatically unlocked by a passing train, and asafety-bar connected with said interlocking apparatus, saidtrack-instrument and safetybar coacting substantially in the mannerdescribed.

2. The combination, with an interlocking apparatus and a signal or otherconnection, I, of a track-instrument which locks the interlockingapparatus when the signal or other connection Iis set to allow thepassage of trains and is automatically unlocked bya passingtrain,and asafety-bar connected with said interlocking apparatus and preventing themovement ofthe connection to which it is attached when a wheel of thetrain is over it, said track-instrument and safety-bar being locatedopposite each other at the extreme or remote end of the section of trackover which the signal or other adjunct allows the passage of trains,substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination,with a track and switch, of an interlockingapparatus, a signal,asafetybar, a track-instrument, a switch-lock, andintermediate connections between said parts, the safety-bar beingconnected to the switch-lock connection and the track-instrument beingconnected to the signal-connection, whereby the switch is renderedimmovable until a car or engine has passed both the track-instrument andsafety-bar,substantial] y as set forth.

4. The combination, with an interlocking apparatus having two or morelevers and conneetions therefrom, with parts movablethere by,of atrack-instrument and a safety-bar con trolling the movements of saidconnections and levers, whereby, after the track-instrument has been setfor the passage of trains, the lever connected with the safety-barcannot be moved until the track-instrument has been operated andeffected a release or automatic unlocking and until the safety-bar hasbeen entirely cleared, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination of an interlocking apparatus, a safety-bar, atrack-instrument, and intermediate connections between said parts,whereby, after the tracleinstrument has been set for the passage of atrain, the safetybar connections cannot be moved until a passing car orengine has operated the track-instrument and passed beyond thesafety-bar, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this23d day of June, 1886.

FREDERICK S. GUERBER.

Vitnesses: WILLIAM HOWELL POWELL,

It. DALE SPARHAWK.

